Holiday Festivities Kick Off The 58th Annual Towerlighting Ceremony At The Scranton Times Building.

CLAYTON OVER, STAFF WRITERNovember 22, 2018

Holiday Festivities Kick Off The 58th Annual Towerlighting Ceremony At The Scranton Times Building.

SCRANTON — As about 20 members of the Scranton Cultural Center Youth Theater Program filed from the Scranton Times Building onto a snow-blown, chilly Penn Avenue on Wednesday, Noah Nielsen, 13, of Archbald, offered some words of encouragement.

The snow ... er, the show, must go on, after all.

“Don’t be cold, be happy,” Noah said.

Noah and the other members of the troupe, who ranged from third-graders to 12th-graders, performed scenes and songs from Disney’s “Newsies” before the 58th annual tower lighting Wednesday.

About two dozen people watched and several passers-by stopped to take in a portion of their act as they sang and danced on a stage and on the pavement in front of it.

As the show performance continued, so did the increasingly escalating snow flurries.

While the cast didn’t figure on performing in the windy, wintry conditions, they adapted and even seemed to channel their surroundings, said Camille Reinecke, director of the center’s youth theater program.

“I think it helped bring more intensity,” Reinecke said. “It helped them bring more energy to the performance.”

To catch the cast of Newsies perform the show in its entirety and in a more controlled climate, check them out at the Scranton Cultural Center, 420 N. Washington Ave., from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20.

Before the show, Kendra Davis of Newton Twp. and her daughter, Hannah, 6, who clutched a cup of coffee in her gloved hands, braved the elements to wait for the performance.

Another daughter, Graceann, performs in the cast.

It was the first time they’ve attended the tower-lighting event, which also featured live music, food trucks and other entertainment topped off with fireworks to welcome the holiday season. Davis said she’s admired the lights in the past.